I think he's one of the better balanced, more realistic, and most hu-mon Star Trek characters, but I was not that fond of him during my first trip through DS9.

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Agreed. But the role he sometimes played, "Outside alien with a unique cynical perspective of The Federation" (Garak also had some of this) might have been better served being given to a more charismatic character with that being his defining trait.

TNG totally trashed the Ferengi in their first appearance, as they originally were supposed to be the main bad guys. Quark added a new perspective to them, but they still served as Trek's resident clowns.

Quark is one of the best characters on DS9. He's one of the few civilian, non-Human characters we ever get on Star Trek and he's also hilarious. He was a needed perspective on a show set on a station with all kinds of non-Starfleet, non-Human characters.

He's just a guy trying to get sex and money, and sometimes do a little good. Who can't sympathize with that?

Speaking of Quark, I've always wondered why he (and some other Ferengi) do not wear that head dress thing. I've only seen bits an pieces of them in TNG so I don't know if it was ever explained there or ever explained at all.

Does the head dress mean anything in particular to the Ferengi or is just a fashion statement, like how some people like wearing ball caps and others do not.

Speaking of Quark, I've always wondered why he (and some other Ferengi) do not wear that head dress thing. I've only seen bits an pieces of them in TNG so I don't know if it was ever explained there or ever explained at all.

Does the head dress mean anything in particular to the Ferengi or is just a fashion statement, like how some people like wearing ball caps and others do not.

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The real world reason was that most Ferengi masks didn't wrap all the way around the back of the head, and the dress was used to cover that up and make the makeup process easier. Quark was the first, and one of the few, Ferengi that had the full mask.

Star Trek aliens traditionally were intended to represent individual human traits, i.e., Vulcans=Logic, Ferengi=Greed, etc. I could never figure out what they were supposed to represent with all the different Xindi factions.

I feel the opposite! I am on Season 5 and still look forward to Quark episodes. They have a lightness to them that Star Trek lacks sometimes. Usually they bring much needed comedic relief, at least for me anyways. I still love whenever Odo tries to catch Quark in some scheme. I also never get sick of Garak centered episodes.